Safe Sex Commandments

 Well, Sista Zipporah and I were at her place last night, just chillin and shit. You know how we do. In addition to eating, drankin (of course), we talked about a whole heap of black issues. Of the many black issues that we have, we talked extensively about the continued practice of unsafe sex among our people. I would imagine that this is common among all demographics but considering the prevalence of teen pregnancy and high STD infection rates in our community, it's a problem that disproportionately hurts us more.

So it begs the question, why aren't people using condoms?? They're cheap, ubiquitous and well, important goddammit! Despite the PSA's and the many conversations about dire statistics, people are still not wearing condoms. Why? Clearly the HIV/ AIDS awareness messages are not getting through to black folk, especially young ones. Zippy and I decided to channel our inner fifteen year old, and create reasons to stay protected in a manner that would hopefully resonate with them crazy keeds.

10 Safe Sex Commandments

1. Ladies, if he doesn't want to do it with a condom....then he probably can't do it that good.
2. Would you trust him with you car??? Exactly.
3. Sure, that baby would be cute… but working 40 hrs a week for $7.25 to buy diapers and crappy baby food ain’t!
4. Sex with a condom is better than sex with a 2 year old around.
5. In Genesis it says be fruitful and multiply… but Adam and Eve ain’t have bills to pay!
6. In 2009, African Americans comprised 14% of the US population but accounted for 44% of all new HIV infections. We fuckin up!
7. Compare the price of a condom, with the price of a baby or with the price of lifelong HIV Treatment… WRAP IT UP.
8.   Don’t like to swallow… try swallowing a fistful of pills a day to stay alive.
9. Fellas, how many of y'all grew up without a dad? Be a real man and end the cycle with you.
10. It is OKAY to have sex, it’s even better when you know you’re safe.

 

Occupy Wall Street- My Story

It was 10:30 at night when I got home last Thursday. After getting off the train, I decided to try to numb the pain of an additional thirty minute bus ride by catching up with a friend from high school. Expecting the late night conversation to be little more than fluff, it surprisingly turned into a fierce exchange of ideas as I shared with her my experience at Occupy Wall Street. I was just returning from the second anniversary of march's existence so I was still beaming from excitement.

I told her of the various people I knew who were also in attendance. My former high school English teacher was helping me out with a play I am writing and suggested that we head down to Foley Square after my interview with him. Although I am an avid supporter of OWS, I have been lazy and never made it to any of the protests, even the one they had in Jamaica, Queens. It was about five o'c lock when we arrived, and I realized it wasn't just laziness keeping me from attending OWS. After arriving to the area, one the first things we saw were cops equipped with riot gear. I thought to myself, where is our protection? There has been some speculation as to why ethnic minorities have been largely absent at OWS protests. I can't offer much insight into why that may be but this ethnic minority was scared out of her ass. I mentioned to my mom that I wanted to go to the protests and she, another ethnic minority, explicitly told me, "Don't come to me for bail money."

The friend I was on the phone with had the same fears. Luckily the night ended without any conflict. In fact, I found many of the officers to be kind and helpful with directions. I did find it obnoxious when few protesters antagonized the cops without any clear reason in doing so. I was giving mad shade to the silly, little white girl next to me while she was yelling at the cops. I again thought to myself, You best believe that if things get out of hand, I'll be quick to point in your direction and scream 'Cuff her' because my broke, black ass ain't finnah go to jail!

Laughing, my friend inquired about the aims of OWS. She put her boyfriend on three way and he began to challenge me about the validity of their targeting of Wall Street. Though he shared their frustrations with the little oversight placed on our financial industry, he seemed frustrated by Occupys's opaqueness, an aspect that I appreciated. He and I debated about the need for OWS to specify their wants. At that time, I was stepping through the door of my house and saw that my parents were still up. I got off the phone but ended up continuing the conversation with my parents.

They were in bed, watching the coverage from the day's protests in New York City, specifically the hundreds of arrests that were made that day. She stated her disgust with the abuse of law enforcement. While I certainly agreed, I also argued that white liberals' trouble with police brutality is a troubling in itself considering my anecdotal evidence of their tendency for provocation. A police pepper spraying old people and hippies is awful and stupid but it is much different from unarmed black men getting shot. Maybe I was being trivial but she understood my point.

My father, old, jaded and cynical echoed my friend's boyfriend's concerns. He wanted to know what was going to come of this, noting the increased coverage of what was previously largely ignored. I explained that the self-proclaimed movement is centered on the absolute power given to the financial industry and how it contributes to the socio-inequality that plagues our society. Likely speaking to the ubiquity young, white faces on TV he asked me exactly who was watching. But there were unions, students, hippies, immigrant groups, the green party, a few people in work clothes, teachers, aspiring rappers and everyone else in between. Repeating my appreciation of its vagueness, I told him I saw a wide array of people represented which is appropriate because economic affects almost all of us, 99% of us, if you will.

Marching across the bridge with honoree Sister Miss All Ass was somehow empowering for me and the other occupiers. In today's economy it is easy to feel as if you are alone in your struggles. While our struggles vary, particularly in regards to severity and experience, it can all be linked to economic injustice. I may not have fully won them all over, but I was convinced that Occupy Wall Street was working.  Some are inspired by it, but everybody is talking about it. The guy holding that sign with a well-know Gandhi quote got it right, "First they ignore you, then they ridicule you, then they fight you, and then you win."

It's Official, I'm Out

Alright people. I'm basically at my wits end here.

Eventhough I said clearly that I would be M.I.A. a few weeks a go, I have been pretty active on this blog. I've also found myself on twitter, fb, and my other multitude of internet sites that I have spent way too much time on in comparison to what I really need to be getting done. My homework.

I have 18 assignment that are due in 4 weeks. This is no joke. I'm only taking two classes but grad school is wrecking my life. And I've been dropping the ball. I mean, I was able to get 3 of those assignments done yesterday, clapforem, but then today I fucked around all day in wonderful wonderful leisure up until...well now. WOMP WOMP WOMP. I mean, maybe I deserved a nice little break after working so hard yesterday. But it's almost 8:30 and I have 3 assignments due by Tuesday. I've dropped the ball folks. And with the difficulty there is even trying to do any homework while I'm at work, I've got to use all the extra time I've got to get this work done.

That being said. It's official. I'm out.

I will be deactivating both my twitter and facebook as of now. I will also be signing out of gchat. And, sorry folks, I won't be blogging until my semester is over. I'll just keep track of the posts I want to write, and there are many, and unleash them when I get back from my academic death. Friends, if you want to get at me and you have my number, make it work.

All that being said, I'm officially signing off.

Deuces.

http://www.nairaland.com/nigeria/topic-632376.0.html

Le Chele: I'm sorry

But...

Oprah's Life Class

Well, thank you Ms. Scott for letting people know that I have been slackin'...

Anyway, I have been productive in my absence! I have 'discovered' the beauty of Oprah's Life Classes. Basically, Lady O highlights some of the lessons that she has learned and tried to teach in her 25 years on the Oprah Show. For example, one show is about 'Living In the Moment' (something I try really hard to do) and another focuses on how 'the truth will set you free'.
I've never been a die hard Oprah fan and what not, but this is her at her best!

Anyway see for yourself and watch her show on OWN!

What are some life lessons that Oprah has helped you come to realize?

Cooking for One: Top Sirloin

What's going on ladies and gents?! I'm going to premise this post by saying, for some reason, even with all the grad school work I have to do, I've been finding time to actually blog. It's surprising. Because I seriously thought (and even said) that I would be M.I.A. Maybe my time management skills have gotten better. More than likely, this is just another way for me to procrastinate.

That being said. I've been sitting on this post for a while since my girl Zipporah said she would be starting some Cooking For One posts. I've been waiting for her to deliver but as of yet...nada. Yeah I'm calling you out girl. Throwing mad shade your way.

Just playing. She's been busy so I'm going to hop onto her train and get this thing moving. That being said, my cooking for one segment focuses on preparing and cooking that perfect piece of top sirloin. 

Now I'm a cooker. I will readily admit and boast that I can throw down in the kitchen, any day of the week. I learned from my grandmother and father mostly, and have used my teachings well. I experiment and create fantastic recipes from scratch. And since I'm a huge fan of meat, specifically a good ass rare steak, I take very good care to make sure I don't mess up when it comes to cooking one. 

Step One: Wash that sucka. Now this should go without saying. But I've met some people who don't understand this concept and will slap the meat straight from the package right onto the pan. False boss. I won't be touching your food [1]. Also, depending on how much time you have or are willing to spend, you can also brine the steak. Just set the steak in a salt/water combination for a good hour or 2 before cooking, and the tenderness will definitely be a pleasant surprise. 

Step Two: Ingredients ingredients ingredients! It's all about the seasonings. 

This time I chose to use of combination of sea salt (remember not to add as much as you would regular salt, probably a 1/3 will do), onion powder, Weber Chicago Style Steak Seasoning, and some savory. Umm Umm good. For this particular steak I put each ingredient on one side and on the other I only put the Weber. 

Step Three: Have the right pan! So I've learned the secrets of grilling from my father. We are a big grilling family. He has a huge barrel grill in the back and has even grilled and smoked meats many times during the winter. It's fantastic. That being said, I chose to use our grill pan in order to make sure my piece of top sirloin has grill marks. 

Beautiful ain't it.

However, you can use a regular fry pan as well. Just make sure to add enough oil (I prefer either olive oil or canola) so that it won't stick!

Step Four: Cook that sucka! Now as I mentioned above, I fucks with the rarer side of steaks. I like my steaks bloody and the cow still mooing when it's on my plate. I find it to be oh so delicious when I can dip my steak in the juices, like a sauce. So I chose to cook it for about 3 minutes on each side at medium-high temperature. It is a thick cut steak so I allowed for a bit extra time. However, most prefer their steaks a bit dryer, so allow for a longer cook time. And if you can't gauge the temp of the steak/if it's cooked to your preference, just cut into it while its on the pan. We're not gourmet chefs folks; do what you gotta do. 

Step Five: Plate it and enjoy. 

Yeah, I realized that the steaks are not one in the same. I made two steaks that night but they both came out with the same taste and look, just a lil different in size. And you can choose how fancy you want to plate your food. That night I was ravenous, so I slapped my steak onto the plate and then commenced dying over how yummy it was. It was definitely the best homemade steak (that was not grilled/bbq'd) I've ever had. Sorry dad, I win. 

And there you have it peoples. Simple top sirloin. It took me about 10 mins total with preparation (as I chose not to brine it) and cooking. It was so tender, perfectly rare, and perfectly seasoned. I was in heaven after each bite. I hope you'll enjoy it as much as I did. Get to nomming!

[1] Same goes for not washing vegetables. I know this one woman who just takes the mushrooms, dirt and all, chops them up and goes with it. HELL TO THE NAW. Wash my shit. If I wanted dirty food, I'd eat out of a damn dumpster. That is not the business. 

Favorite Web Junk of the Week

So I've decided to introduce a new featured post: Favorite Web Junk of the Week. Now by "Junk" I don't necessarily mean that it is anything bad. On the contrary, I'm usually highly entertained by it and think you will be too. It's just a general term. Thus, I intend to share with you the various blogs, tumblers, memes, viral videos, and pics that have made it into my inbox, convos with friends, and my web browsing while I'm at work.

1. First up this week is a fantastically entertaining picture my bestie Eun sent me:

http://poorlydressed.failblog.org/2011/05/11/fashion-fail-theyre-skin-colored-oh-wait/

Take a look. Keep looking. Figure it out yet? 

Yeah, it's hilarious.

2. Dear Big Sean, I really can't stand most of your music, but you sure know how to make some damn catchy songs. Tell em Le Chele: I DO IT! 

I actually mostly like this song because of Nicki Minaj. #Pause

In all seriousness, I never thought I would actually say that. I mean, since mixtape Minaj was basically swallowed up by her own ass, I haven't really rode with her music like that, nahmean? I mean I played the fuck out of Itty Bitty Piggy but I haven't really liked any of her other stuff except for Super Bass. But I finally recognized that she just isn't really hip hop. She's pop, so I allowed myself to somewhat enjoy her stuff. That being said, I really don't understand why I enjoy this song like I do. When it would come on the radio I would turn it off, but after watching the video, I have replayed it at least 10 times in the past 2 weeks. That's not normal. #ASS 

3. Next up is this fantastic site called Yo, Is this Racist?, which I immediately had to start following. It is very simple in its deliver and makes for some solid laughs. Shout out to Eun once again! Here is an example of some of its content:

billowy asked: Japanese afro cookie packaging “Black Melon Pan”

Yo, obviously. And that cookie looks wack as fuck, too.

Seriously, take some time out at work and allow yourself some laugh therapy. This guy is spot on with his commentary.

4. Rounding out my list is definitely one of the funnest websites found on the internet. Now, don't be one of those who confuses this genius with the actually Ghostface Killah (who is his own genius). Mr. Cocaine Biceps and the legendary Wu rapper are not one in the same. But that's the point. Take a look at dude's review of Drake's new album Take Care.

His delivery will have you rolling on the floor with laugher, literally. My favorite posts are definitely his lists of Softest Niggas in the Game. And the way BigGhost goes in on Drake is just too phenomenal. He even said: "This niggas heart got a ponytail". DEAD ON ARRIVAL.

Dude has a gift.

So definitely check that site out for some good old hip hop infused humor. Be warned it is definitely some straight #niggashit

Aiight. That's it ladies and gents. These are my 4 favorite web junks of the week. All (except number 2- I'm still trying to wrap my head around why I like this video) have had me at work dying. On some my coworkers looking at my cubicle and asking if I'm alright, type of stuff. I hope you enjoy as much as I have. And definitely fell free to email the ladies me any good web junk you come across. Humorous, sad, thought-provoking, anger inducing, or even a lil frightening will work. Hit us up at sisterescape@gmail.com. Hey, you might even get a shout out. Word to your mother.